Adios Europa :(

Thursday we spent a day at sea, relaxing on deck and enjoying the ship. Friday we went to Palma de Mallorca, an island a ways off the coast of Spain. We spent the first hour or so walking around the old Spanish village, most famous for it’s incredible cathedral at it’s center, walking distance from our port and the beach. Spanish architecture really might be my very favorite. Palma, named for it’s beautiful palm trees, is like a post card with the palm trees against the exquisite, Spanish architecture against the green mountains. Palma de Mallorca is famous for it’s sea caves, so we took a cab to the other side of the island through some of the island’s beautiful countryside to the caves. After touring the impressive caves, we went back to the old village and spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach there. We finally swam in the Mediterranean Sea! A great way to end our time in Europe!

As if I wasn’t already crazy enough about Italy...

The Amalfi Coast might have Parshall, Colorado and Melrose, Scotland status as one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. Charming, colorful villas seem painted into the seaside cliffs and the emerald, green water beckons to you to dive in. We ported in Naples and began the day at Pompeii, the extremely ancient civilization, buried by the neighboring, volcanic Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D., still being excavated today. The views of Mt. Vesuvius were beautiful and Pompeii’s ruins fascinating. Most importantly, dogs have always been a key part of life in Pompeii, and now the ruins double as a shelter. Next, we drove from Pompeii down the famously, breath taking Amalfi drive (so not overrated) into Positano. We wandered through the charming seaside town, famous for it’s beauty, shopping, and lemon’s. After more delicious Italian food looking over the sea in Positano, we took a boat ride (the highlight of day) with amazing views to the small island of Capri. We walked through the island admiring it’s amazing views, gardens, and of course, coral and pearl jewelry. We didn’t have long in Capri due to our early cruise departure from Naples, but we definitely made the most of the time we had. I really think I could spend months solely exploring the Amalfi coast. I’m was pretty sad to leave Italy. I really love everything about  it...the history, the scenery, the art, the food, the spirited people. 

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and you can’t see it in one either.

We took about an hour and a half bus ride from our port, Civitavecchia, to Roma! We decided Vatican City was a major priority, so we began the day there. It really does feel like it’s own little tourist flooded country, solely focused on christianity, catholicism, and it’s history. I expected to be amazed by the Vatican, but I didn’t expect it to be quite so meaningful to me. Just being there, in such a beautiful place where so much history occurred and that is still so important today, was completely and utterly surreal. We began in Saint Peter’s Basilica (the front and most visible part of Vatican City), featuring Michelangelo’s Pieta. It was difficult to leave the breath taking, Basilica, but our day had only begun, so we walked through Vatican City to the Vatican museums. We trekked through the museum, packed like sardines, through one intricately, artistic room after the next on our way to the Sistine Chapel. How did one man create so much beauty? Words truly cannot describe. I really hope to go back to Vatican City when I have time to study everything more thoroughly. After Vatican City, we visited the stunning Trevi fountain, stood in awe for a few minutes, tossed our coin, made a wish, and moved on to get a taste of ancient Rome. We walked by the Colosseum and the other incredible ancient ruins nearby. Looking at these amazing landmarks, it truly is a marvel that they are still standing. We grabbed some gelato, walked along the Tevere River, stopped by Castel Sant’ Angelo, and it was time to head back to port. To say the least, Rome is overwhelming...in the best way.

My feelings for Italia...that’s amore.

Sorry for my failure to keep up with my blog the last four days of the trip. The internet was never working on the ship. Anyways, I’m now on the plane from Amsterdam to Atlanta. We flew from Barcelona to Amsterdam first this morning. From only looking out the plane window, I am dying to go back and actually visit Amsterdam. I left off with Cannes/Nice, so that means the next day was Florence. Is it too early for me to register for Muhlenberg’s theatre study abroad program in Florence? We took about a two hour bus ride through the beautiful Tuscan countryside from our port, La Spezia, to get to Florence. The cruise was a blast and really made the trip more relaxed, but I, who obsesses over doing and seeing everything when I visit a new place, am not the best cruise traveler. Basically, I just really need to go back to Italy. Once we arrived in Florence, we walked around the Santa Croce square, featuring the Basilica di Santa Croce, so beautiful it didn’t look real when the tuscan sun was shining down on it. From there, we headed to Uffizi, one of the world’s greatest renaissance art museums, only to discover that it along with most other art museums (including Galleria dell ‘Accademia, which holds Michelangelo’s famous David) were closed on Mondays. Fortunately, right next to Uffizi is Plazza della Signoria, a beautiful square featuring amazing renaissance sculpture. David originally stood here. A mock now stands where the original once did, but all the other art in the square is original. On the other side of the famous square, we found the Palazzo Vecchio, a museum that was actually open on Monday’s. The “old palace” was home to Cosimo and the Medici family and dates back to the 13th century. The rooms featured one beautiful frescoe after the next. Since we didn’t get to see the real David, the highlight of Palazzo Vecchio was probably Michelangelo’s sculpture, Genius of Victory. When we finally drug ourselves out of the museum, we enjoyed an amazing Italian lunch back in the Plazza della Signoria square, looking out on the sculptures in the beautiful square and trying to stay away from the pigeons. After lunch, we meandered through the charming Florence streets and alley’s, making our way to Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, which somehow, with it’s amazing colors, appeared even less real than Santa Croce. We walked around the outside of the cathedral and the Battistero San Giovanni (baptistery), but due to our time crunch and the insanely long lines we were unable to go inside either. However, we did have time to climb the cathedral’s bell tower or cupola, which reaches just above the baptistery’s famous dome. The view was one of the best of the trip, showcasing all of Florence and going into the gorgeous Tuscan countryside as well. When we got down from the tower, we rushed back to the bus, leaving Florence having begun to fall in love with Italy and only dying to come back to Tuscany.